Wireless Internet! |
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Good News! The King County Library System in Puget Sound, Washington State USA, now offers FREE Wireless Internet Access to everybody! To find out more info, visit the following link: http://www.kcls.org/about/wireless.cfm Several months ago, Mr. Miranda tested out the Wi-Fi system at the Bellevue Regional Library. The computer that was used was a Zenith Data Systems 75 MHz Laptop computer... Was it slow? Not really! It was running a tweaked up version of Windows 98, and surfing the internet was much faster than the 400MHz+ desktops that are made for public use in the library. The Bothell Regional Library was the second library, Mr. Miranda had tested out. This had saved him a trip to Bellevue. The Bothell Regional Library is open until 9:00PM on Sundays!!! Accessing the Wireless Internet at the library is EASY and FREE. The Library System does NOT require the user to have a library card, however, the user should bring their own laptop and Wi-Fi card. Keep in mind, though, the library staff can not offer any advice on how to set up the Wi-Fi card. It is recommended that End Users ask a fellow technician to help them set up the configuration. Mr. Miranda, of MirandaSoft Computer Services, will be glad to configure a laptop computer with a Wi-Fi card, for a small $10 fee. This webpage is being constructed, using Microsoft FrontPage 2000 on a IBM ThinkPad i1400, a 366 MHz Intel Celeron laptop computer. An AOpen Wi-Fi card is being used and am accessing the internet at 11Mbps! The location is at the Shoreline Public Library in Shoreline, Washington USA. Recently, I have checked into T-Mobile's Hotspot. The official link is at http://www.t-mobile.com/hotspot/. T-Mobile's service very good, but after using the Free Day Pass, the user will have to Pre-Pay for service on a major credit card. Note: Free Day Pass expires 24 hours from first login or 60 days after sign-up, whichever comes first. The service is $49.95 per month for Unlimited access, $39.95 per month for current T-Mobile customers. They have a Pay-as-you-Go plan for $2.99 per login, which includes 15 free minutes. Each additional minute is $0.25. If the King County Library System did not have FREE Wi-Fi access, T-Mobile would be making profits. Also, for those in the Seattle area, Mr. Miranda recommends that a visit to Seattle Wireless be made. Their URL is http://www.seattlewireless.net/. This local company site offers much more friendly information about Wi-Fi. The content seems to be written to allow a non-technician understand. When visiting Seattle Wireless, be sure to read their FAQ and their Hot News. Seattle Wireless also offers a Huge Page of Free Wi-Fi HotSpots, just to click this LINK to visit it. My Official Opinion is... Buy a Laptop! If you don't have a laptop, contact MirandaSoft. If you don't have a Wi-Fi card for your laptop, buy one! Then head to a library in the King County Library System to try it out. Most vendors of the Wi-Fi cards will accept returns, however, you may have to wait an average of two weeks to get a refund. For more information about Wi-Fi, please visit the Wi-Fi Alliance website. Their URL is http://www.weca.net. Also, check out the 802.11 Planet... Their URL is http://www.80211-planet.com/. Are you concerned about Wi-Fi Security? Please read articles on the internet, such as this one from Wired News: Feds label Wi-Fi a Terrorist Tool. Also by Wired News, Wi-Fi Encryption Fix Not Perfect. Also, be sure to check out Yahoo's Section on Wi-Fi... Click this Link to see the current listing. This webpage will have more and more info about Wi-Fi soon. It was first posted on February 26, 2003. Please give credit to the respective companies and organizations listed. However, MirandaSoft will be conducting random tests of Wi-Fi networks and posting the results here. End of Official Report. Visitor #: |
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